


Ode to Sleep, to Death

by LordShaxx



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: M/M, josh is a vampire, twilight spinoff, tyler makes music
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2016-08-23
Packaged: 2018-08-09 10:28:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7798297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordShaxx/pseuds/LordShaxx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tyler moves to Washington to live with his mom to ride out his last two years in high school. After that, he's free, after that, Fueled by Ramen will let him officially record his first studio album. It doesn't really stop his mom from setting up small gigs to play around town though, and it certainly doesn't stop her from inviting the Dun family to them. Josh is an absolute angel, Tyler decides. But Tyler doesn't love him nope, no way. Blurryface told him that it would ruin his chances to make music and Tyler was going to listen, if it was the last thing he did. </p><p>In which Tyler is a lone songwirter, Josh is a vampire, and Tyler can't help but fall in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> Well I told myself I wouldn't publish this until I had at least three chapters written but I couldn't help myself. Enjoy, let me know what you think.

When the plane landed down at the airport, and Tyler looked out the window to see his final destination was just as dreary and wet as he anticipated it would be, he couldn't hold back the heavy sigh that escaped him. As far as he was concerned, Washington was a disgusting state. It's constant cover of clouds and rain did nothing to ease his growing depression, although, it did give him more content to work off of for his music, a thought which disgusted him, in all honesty. Tyler hoped that one day he would be writing happier, more hopeful music, maybe even love songs if it came down to it. If he lived that long.

He made his way off the plane, through the gates, looking for his mother. She told him she would grab his bags and to not worry too much about rushing and panicking to find his things and her, that he should stay calm. Seattle's airport wasn't as crazy as she made it out to be, though, perhaps because he decided to fly down on a Wednesday morning, instead of a weekend day or something like that. He found his mother fairly easily, her shock of blonde hair surprisingly stood out amongst a sea of brunettes. Kelly Joseph smiled widely upon seeing Tyler for the first time in three years. She hugged him tightly when he reached her, a small sob threatening to break free from her throat.

“Ah, mom please don't cry.” Tyler begged. He knew if his mom were to start crying, he would follow soon after. “Come on, where'd you park?”

“Just out front, I got lucky.” she smiled tightly, willing down her emotions. Since her and Tyler's father had divorced, Tyler had been living with him in Ohio, as they both felt it best to let Tyler choose where he wanted to be. And at such a young age, Kelly couldn’t blame him, after all, what son wouldn't want to be with his father? Tyler and his mother made their way to her car, and soon enough they were driving through the small town of Forks, Washington, where the rain never stopped and clouds draped the land like a protective blanket. 

The car ride proved itself to be uneventful, Tyler's mom asking about how his music was going, and him trying to give her the simplest explanation of how his career was starting. He was unofficially signed by Fueled By Ramen back in Ohio, the label manager explaining that while yes, he had the talent they were looking to nurture, that he should finish schooling before any talk of touring or albums were to come to fruition. He could still play smaller shows, and write and record, but it wouldn't be totally official until he graduated. This was fine with him, he assured his mother, and he would get to finish school as normally as possible which, he reminded her, is what she wanted. 

Tyler missed this. His mom didn't push him as hard as his dad did, she let him do his own thing while supporting him in any way she could. As they pulled up to the house, Tyler noted that she had fixed it up since he'd last been here. The two story home was freshly painted a baby blue colour that reminded him of bird eggs, and there was a garden flourishing in the front yard with a beautiful rainbow of flowers that looked real, despite his mothers conspiratorial whisper that they weren't. She led him inside, and as the warmth of the heater washed over him and he took his bags upstairs to his room, Tyler relaxed. He could definitely get used to the small town feelings and the cozy home. Just as long as he didn't get distracted from his writing or his schoolwork. 

Yes, Tyler had the feeling that this was going to be a good experience for him.

\-------

The next morning saw Tyler sleeping in as his mom snuck off to work, and when he awoke around noon, dragged himself through his morning routine and finished unpacking, he realized that he really had no idea what he was going to do. Today was supposed to be his off day, and tomorrow his mom was going to accompany him to a small acoustic show downtown, but he didn't have enough off days before to really know what to do what himself. Before long the day had entirely gone by and his mom was seated on the couch while Tyler sat across from her in front of his practice keyboard, slightly lost in a song he hadn't practiced very much. 

_Down in the forest...._

_we'll sing a chorus.._

_hands held higher, we'll be on fire, singing songs that nobody wrote._

Tyler liked practicing with his mom around. She would watch with a vaguely proud look in her eyes, and she always gave him a small applause when he was done. She was his number one fan, and Tyler loved that about her. He let his fingers keep playing the melody, but he had stopped singing along. He thinks that although he hasn't practiced this song much, he knows it by heart already. 

“Hey Tyler?” his moms nervous question broke him out of his daze. 

“Yeah mom, what's up?” 

“I thought you'd like to know..well, the town's best doctor, Mrs. Dun, she'll be attending the show with her family. I invited them over afterward, and I wanted to to be a surprise, but I figured it would be best to tell you.” She wrung her hands together slightly as if expecting him to be angry or something. He smiled warmly at her, trying to quell the nerves that erupted in his stomach.

“That sounds great mom.” She smiled back at him, relieved, and he mentally wiped the sweat off his brow. He didn't want his mom to see how absolutely terrified that idea made him. He stood and gave his mom a hug, telling her goodnight and locked himself away for the night.

He tossed and turned until almost three in the morning, unable to get past the thoughts that tomorrow he'd fail and embarrass himself and his mother and everything would be ruined and when he showed up at school everyone would know how awful his music was. 

Tyler was _terrified_. And morning came too quickly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it came to my realization that despite following twenty one pilots since 2012 I have no real grasp on how to write them and keep their personalities relatively in character. i changed some stuff up about ages and blah blah creative liberty. Enjoy frens.

Sunday mostly turned out to be uneventful. Tyler's mom made pancakes and sausage for breakfast, then left for a short three hour shift at her job (which Tyler still wasn't sure exactly what she did, and he made a mental note to ask her), and then they had lunch at a local diner. His mom insisted that he used to like it when he was a kid, and that they came here all the time, but he honestly didn't remember anything about it. The whole time through lunch it was mainly just awkward small talk, since they were interrupted by people who couldn't help but ask if Tyler remembered them (he didn't) and how he was doing (he was fine). 

And before Tyler even knew it, 5 o'clock had rolled around and he was getting his piano set up in a dimly lit room. It reminded him of a cafe of sorts, as there were tables scattered around, and a sleek countertop dividing a fourth of the room so people could order food or drinks. It was a nice place, minus the solid wall of glass directly across from him. He didn't particularly feel like watching himself play when it got dark outside, and hoped that maybe they'd draw a shade so no one could peer in, either. Tyler finished hooking up a few loose wires and plopped down next to his mom at the closest table, sighing.

His mom raised a brow at him. “Everything alright, Tyler? You know you don't have to do this if you want to take a break, right?” He shook his head at her. It wasn't that he wanted to take a break, per say. Sure, he'd like to focus more on writing songs and his schoolwork, but it wasn't a priority. He didn't quite know how to articulate to her that it was more nervewracking to perform in a room of people who knew, vaguely or not, who he was when he didn't know them. Tyler knew his mom wouldn't fully understand since he performed in front of strangers just fine all the time, but it was different when said strangers had talked to his mother, and had a certain view painted of him.

“I'm just a little nervous,” he said finally, and pursed his lips in an attempt to keep from smiling. “I'm just..I'm the lead singer, you know. This is important.” His mother snorted a laugh and hit him lightly on the arm. At that moment the door jingled slightly and Tyler could swear the family heading towards them was probably the most beautiful family he'd ever seen. Led by (he assumed) their mother, there were four children in total, two girls and two boys. He looked away, trying to not stare before even knowing who they were as his mother stood up to greet them.

“Laura, so glad you guys could make it!” she exclaimed, pulling the woman in for a hug. She greeted each of the children as well, and motioned for Tyler to stand up. He did so awkwardly, fumbling with a napkin he was writing on when they first arrived. “Tyler, this is Laura Dun, she owns the blood bank I work at, Laura this is Tyler.” He shook her hand, and although it was only slightly colder than his, it was still a shock to him. 

“It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Dun.” He said quietly. Mrs. Dun laughed and pulled him into a warm hug. Metaphorically warm, as Tyler noted it wasn't just her hands that were cold. “Please dear,” she started, “call me Laura.” He nodded his head and smiled, glancing behind her before he could help himself. Whether she noticed or not, he was unsure but she quickly moved on to introduce them to him. So he learned that he would only be going to school with the taller boy, Josh, who had pretty eyes and pink hair, and the other three went to a local community college just outside of the town. They made quiet small talk, Tyler feeling very small and very inadequate to such beautiful people until the room filled and Tyler was forced to go onto the makeshift stage and do what he and everyone else came for. 

He sat at the piano bench and cleared his throat to try and prevent his voice from cracking. “Hello everyone I'm Tyler Joseph and I'll be singing a few songs.” His face burned a bit as he realized how obvious that was, but he didn't hear laughter, just quiet and polite applause. “Thank you all for coming out tonight. Um, most of these are off of an unofficial album, except one which is new and isn't totally polished off but I'm sure it'll do just fine. So yeah, how about we play some music?” The applause this time was a little loud and there were a few quiet cheers as well. He felt so out of his element, this was so different than the shows he normally played. But, as his fingers flew over the keys and he let himself melt into the music, he stopped thinking about how different this was, and let himself enjoy the quiet peace it was starting to give him. He played a few of his favorites for the piano, which included truce, the run and go, car radio, the one he had just finished which he hesitantly called 'forest', and the one the meant the most to him, trees, which he played last. The show wasn't meant to last long at all, instead just meant to be a showcase of his music and skill for the town, so that he could gain a musical footing locally.

After the show, he mingled for a bit to please his mother, before heading back up to start to pack everything away. Tyler had unhooked maybe three wires for the amp before he heard a warm voice ask “need any help?” He looked up to see Josh Dun standing by playing with a string on his hoodie and Tyler was suddenly very aware of his surroundings. It was almost like an adrenaline spike, and some part of his brain was yelling at him to say no, but it lost out as he quickly nodded to Josh, and said he'd love the help.

“Those songs are, uh, well they're pretty deep.” Josh said lightly. Tyler smiled, though he wasn't too sure what to say back, so he murmured a quiet “thanks.”

“They can be pretty heavy.” Tyler started. He didn't know why, but he felt like he could share anything with Josh, that he could share all the trouble he had with doubting himself and how alone he felt and how mean the blurry part of his brain was. But Tyler kept it to himself, feeling stupid for feeling so comfortable with someone he just met, who he wasn't, and probably never would be, friends with. 

Josh stuttered slightly, afraid that maybe he'd offended Tyler or said the wrong thing. “I mean, I really liked it, all of it. You have serious talent.” Tyler just smiled genuinely and thanked him, and they took the packed up items out to his moms car, stowing most of it into the trunk. Josh left after, going back inside to find his family while Tyler opted to hang back on the side walk, slightly dazed from his encounter with Josh. It was seriously unfair how that whole family looked like models, and he grumbled to himself slightly at the thought that Josh would probably never be interested in him, that he probably wasn't even interested in guys in the first place. Despite those thoughts plaguing his mind, Tyler still fell asleep with a smile.

That night, he dreamt of cotton candy hair and cold hands.


End file.
